Delaware Art Museum looking to expand services to Sussex

Looking to provide more services and opportunities in Sussex County, the Delaware Art Museum has announced it is creating a Sussex-based advisory committee to spur ideas on what those services and opportunities should entail.

The goal is to launch something later this year, said Molly Giordano, Delaware Art Museum executive director, to about 200 people attending the DelArt Sails South event Sept. 11. It could be schools, adult programming, one-off events or partnerships, she said.

The Wilmington-based museum has been around for 100 years, and, said Giordano, it has never been more financially sound. With an audience that’s growing, the museum’s footprint should begin to include the entire state.

Lewes resident Barbara Goetz, museum trustee and DelArt Sails South host committee chair, concurred with Giordano.

Many of the museum members have second homes in Sussex County, and there’s an opportunity to capitalize on that, said Goetz.

“There are program events in Wilmington that bring 600 people. You can see the enthusiasm, and I think we can do that here,” said Goetz.

New museum exhibit opening Oct. 5

Museum officials were on hand to preview the institution’s newest exhibition – Jazz Age Illustration. The exhibit features the art of popular illustrators in the United States between 1919 and 1942.

Museum Curator Heather Campbell Coyle said the museum itself was founded to preserve the collection of artist Howard Pyle, who had a summer home in Rehoboth Beach, and taught future artists like N.C. Wyeth and Frank Schoonover.

These illustrations make up a significant portion of Pyle’s collection, said Coyle, who has been working on the exhibit for five years. He was always collecting, and this exhibit includes many unknown pieces from that period, she said.

The exhibit runs Friday, Oct. 5, through to Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.

For more information on the museum, all exhibits or to participate in the Sussex County advisory committee, go to delart.org, call 302-571-9590 or email info@delart.org.